Deva Fagan is on the Blog!

Deva Fagan is here today! Deva is celebrating the release of her novel: Fortune’s Folly.

About Fortune’s Folly

Ever since her mother died and her father lost his shoemaking skills, Fortunata has survived by telling fake fortunes. But when she's tricked into telling a grand fortune for a prince, she is faced with the impossible task of fulfilling her wild prophecy-or her father will be put to death. Now Fortunata has to help Prince Leonato secure a magic sword, vanquish a wicked witch, discover a long-lost golden shoe, and rescue the princess who fits it. If only she hadn't fallen in love with the prince herself. . . .

(Sounds Fabulous, Right?)

About Deva Fagan

Deva likes searching for patterns, which is how she explains both her degree in mathematics and the echoes of old fairy-tales in her stories. She also loves tea, gardening, and playing the fiddle. She lives in Maine with her husband and her dog.

On to the Interview, and my three standard questions:

Me: Without giving away too many spoilers, what is your favorite part of the novel/what was the part you had the most fun writing?

Deva: I had a lot of fun describing the horribly ugly shoes my main character's father creates after he's lost his talent, with all their weird tassels and curling toes and mis-matched colors.

Me: (lol) That sounds pretty wild! What kind of writing project are you currently working on? Or, if you aren't working on anything new, is there a different demographic/genre you wouldn't mind tackling in the future?

Deva: I'm currently working on the first draft of a science fiction novel involving ancient aliens, spaceships, circuses, and exploding chocolate.

Me: Wow! That sounds both complicated and fascinating! You have an incredible imagination! And finally: who is your writing hero and why?

Deva: I have many, but one of them is definitely Lloyd Alexander, who I admire both for his magical, engaging, adventure-filled novels and for the humility, humor and kindness that comes through in his interviews and essays.

Me: Awesome! Readers, you can visit Deva at her home on the web: http://www.devafagan.com

And . . . Fortune’s Folly is officially on sale. You can buy it here: http://www.amazon.com/Fortunes-Folly-Deva-Fagan/dp/0805087427

Deva will be chatting with Carrie Ryan tomorrow at: http://carrie-me.blogspot.com.

Thank you so much for stopping by, Deva!

Another Married Girl Crush

Okay, I have a confession to make: I think I’ve developed a serious married girl crush on one of the most obnoxious and snarkiest men on TV. I’m not sure how it happened, really: one minute I was rolling my eyes and the next . . . BAM.

Simon Cowell, I think I *like* you!

Sure you’re rude and offensive (though I have to admit, honest and usually right). I think you’re lacking in tact and prudence, but when you smile. . . .

(sigh)

I think it may be the accent. The accent and the smile. I guess because his overall TV demeanor is so surly, it makes me appreciate the times when he is genuinely surprised and complimentary (and smiles). I must cherish those moments: they are few and far between.

It happens on the following video clip, though. If you haven’t seen Susan Boyle’s Britain’s Got Talent audition: you *must* watch. The best part is the audience’s expressions before she sings. They are clearly not expecting much. Susan: You Rock, and Wrenn (One Wish) and I are pulling for you.

Be sure to watch Simon, too, though, because he smiles. (sigh)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9z0h1NNk1Ik

Special to April 15^th:

Don’t forget to enter the monthly Debsness Giveaway here: http://community.livejournal.com/debut2009/605738.html

I’m also guest blogging at AuthorsNow today: http://www.authorsnow.com/connect-with-leigh-brescia-books-to-movies/

Have a great day, everyone!

Twilight

I finally watched the Twilight movie this week. In one word: Amazing. In fact, I’d have to say that it has squeaked into my top five favorite movies of all time.

The whole books into movies thing throws me sometimes. Generally, if I read the book first, I like it better than the movie version (Nick and Nora’s, How to Deal, etc.) but when I see the movie first and read the book later, I tend to prefer the movie version (i.e. A Walk to Remember, The Wizard of Oz).

Twilight is probably the first book to movie I’ve seen where both the story and the movie version are equally appealing. I’d love the movie even if I hadn’t read the books, and well, I already think the books are fabulous, so no surprise there.

Strangely, everything I saw in the film was almost exactly how I pictured it when I was reading. That rarely ever happens. I can’t wait for the next movie installment, and you know, if Stephenie Meyer wants to continue the story past Breaking Dawn, I wouldn’t be terribly upset. :)

Sydney Salter is Here!

Happy Monday! In honor of the release of her debut novel, Sydney Salter is here!

You know the routine. . . .

About My Big Nose And Other Natural Disasters

Seventeen-year-old Jory Michaels wakes up on the first day of summer vacation with her same old big nose, no passion in her life (in the creative sense of the word), and all signs still pointing to her dying a virgin. In spite of her driving record (it was an accident!), Jory gets a job delivering flowers and cakes to Reno's casinos and wedding chapels. She also comes up with a new summer goal: saving for a life-altering nose job. She and her new nose will attract a fabulous boyfriend. Jory survives various summer disasters like doing yoga after sampling Mom's Cabbage Soup Diet, enforced-mother-bonding-with-crazy-nose-obsessed-daughter night, and discovering Tyler's big secret. But will she learn to accept herself and maybe even find her passion, in the creative (AND romantic!) sense of the word?

(As someone who hated her nose growing up . . . and still has issues with it occasionally . . . I’m especially excited about this release. I have a feeling that Jory and I will have a lot in common!)

About Sydney Salter

Sydney Salter held a variety of jobs before becoming a full-time writer, including her brief stint delivering pies and flowers, wrecking vans, and destroying wedding cakes in Reno, Nevada. Sydney now lives in Utah with her husband, two daughters, two cats, and two big Bernese Mountain dogs. She loves reading, writing, traveling, and, of course, baking and decorating cakes (but not driving them anywhere).

On to the Interview!

Me: Without giving away too many spoilers, what is your favorite part of the novel/what was the part you had the most fun writing?

Sydney: I had fun writing the romance--my poor character fumbled and embarrassed herself so many times!

Me: Haven’t we all! What kind of writing projects are you currently working on? Or, if you aren't working on anything new, is there a different demographic/genre you wouldn't mind tackling in the future?

Sydney: My first middle-grade novel, JUNGLE CROSSING, comes out in September. I'm also working on another YA novel. I hope to keep writing middle-grade, tween, and YA. I've given up on picture books--I'd rather write 50,000 words than 500.

Me: I hear you. I didn’t do so well on the picture book end, either. And for the final question: Who is your writing hero and why?

Sydney: Madeleine L'Engle. Not only did she show impressive persistence in her writing career, she had a wonderful marriage and family life.

Awesome!

To the Readers: Sydney and her book sound fabulous, right? I thought so! But . . . you don’t have to take my word for it:

“Complex, likeable, believable characters, and a fresh, appealing fictional voice pull together this very agreeable summer romance.” –Kirkus Reviews

You can visit Sydney Salter at her home on the web: http://www.sydneysalter.com

And . . . My Big Nose And Other Natural Disasters is officially on sale. You can buy it here: http://www.amazon.com/Big-Nose-Other-Natural-Disasters/dp/0152066438/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228154257&sr=8-1
Sydney Salter will be chatting with Deva Fagan tomorrow at: http://www.devafagan.com

Thank you so much for stopping by, Sydney!

Teaser!

Since I’ve been trying to heal sick people (and then myself) this week, I’ve no time for a fun, witty entry. Instead, I’m posting something from my WIP (which is titled, and in the revision stages).

Meet Jaden and Parker: they’ve been assigned to work together on a project for their English class. Needless to say they’re not getting along very well.

I stared at him in disbelief. What? Who is this guy? I thought to myself. I looked at him, taking in everything—the black shirt and jacket, the dark hair—either brown or black—I wasn’t sure because it was gelled in the front, and still had that “wet look” to it—and his piercing dark eyes. There was something strangely familiar about him—his strong jaw line and the few, tiny freckles splashed across his nose. Suddenly I realized: Parker Whalen was good-looking. Hot, even.
“Well?” he asked.
I snapped back to attention. “Um, yeah, okay. So we’ll pick something we haven’t read.”
“Are you saying that you typically do projects on books you already know about?” he asked.
“I was just suggesting that if we picked a book we were already familiar with then this project might not be so complicated. We’d at least have some vague idea of what we were doing.” I skimmed through the list of titles.
“Are you saying you’re clueless?”
I ignored this. “How about Pride and Prejudice?” I suggested.
“No.”
“Why not?” I demanded to know.
He sat forward. “Because you’ve already read it.”
“You don’t know that,” I muttered.
“Please,” he said, rolling his eyes. “A senior girl in high school . . . somewhat ‘bookish’ I guess you would say. . . .”
“You can call me a nerd if you want,” I interrupted. “I don’t take offense.”
“Fine. A nerd . . . not that it’s necessarily a bad thing, so don’t go all hostile on me, all right?”
“Fine.”
“I’m just saying that you can’t expect me to believe that you haven’t read one of the supposed greatest romances in all of history. Even if your tenth grade Honors English teacher didn’t assign it . . . you read it on your own.”
“Okay, whatever,” I said, giving up. “What about Jane Eyre?”
He smiled. “You’ve read that one, too.”
I tossed my list on the table in front of him and threw my hands up in exasperation. “Then why don’t you start naming books that you think I haven’t read and we’ll go from there?” I sat back in my chair and folded my arms across my chest. This was getting ridiculous. Picking a book shouldn’t be this hard.
Parker perused the list of titles. “Books you haven’t read . . . let’s see.” Then he began spouting off names. “Catcher in the Rye. The Color Purple. Lord of the Flies.” He looked up at me. “Am I getting warmer?”
I didn’t answer.
“The Jungle. 1984 . . . basically anything on this list that isn’t a romance you haven’t read. So we can throw out Austen, most of the Shakespearean Comedies, the Bronte sisters. . . .”
“Wuthering Heights is not a romance,” I interrupted.
“That depends on how you look at it,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders.
“Yeah, it’s a romance; because Heathcliff’s undying love for Cathy didn’t make him completely depraved.” I rolled my eyes.
“Why not?”
I scoffed. “What are you smoking?”
“I’m not smoking anything. Why is it so hard to believe that a person could love someone so much it would drive him insane? Make him do things he’d never considered?”
“Because it’s not . . . normal.”
Parker laughed. “And your Mr. Darcy is what you’d call normal?”
“Mr. Darcy is a gentleman,” I explained.
“Mr. Darcy is a narcissist,” Parker replied.
“Look, I’m not gonna sit here and argue with you all afternoon. So pick a book, and let’s go.”

So you know: they finally pick a book and start working on their project. Drama ensues.

Happy Friday!